Food for Thought

It's hard to grapple with the fact that the food you find at grocery stores is not always safe for consumption. Food scandals happen all over the world. And much more frequently and with much larger consequences than most of us realize. In 2008, contaminated infant formula affected 300,000 babies and young children. Six of them died. In 2011, many farmers lost acres of fruit harvest as the watermelons were exploding seemingly because they were sprayed with a growth-enhancing chemical. We have seen horsemeat scandals, toxic olive oil, contaminated strawberries and sprouts, cantaloupe with listeria and pink slime full of random chemicals, and the list goes on. WHO estimates that unsafe food is linked to a staggering 2 million deaths every year! Many of them children. Over 200 diseases are caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses and chemical substances. How can we trust that the food we eat is not a recipe for disaster and death? The World Health Organization (WHO) has put the spotlight on food safety this year with a campaign launched on World Health Day last week. As a global organization, based in Geneva, the WHO works for global prevention, detection and response to the public health threats posed by unsafe food. It works with other UN agencies and partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization to ensure appropriate measures cover processes across the entire food chain of production and consumption. The Economic Commission ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news